The Blorthog Project
by Hanna Sedai
Summary: Adventure. Romance. Magic. :D
1. Episode 1: Act 1

**Disclaimer: **I'll be looking for a job at DC Comics so that all of this can become canon.

**A/N: **Hello world!

So you're probably wondering what the heck is up with my story description. I feel that it is inadequate to label this story under "Starfire" since this is essentially a story about all of the Titans. However, the main plotline will be revolving around Starfire, which is why I labeled this under her name. What is the "Blorthog Project" exactly about? Well, while I was writing "Dust" I thought about doing a giant story that would basically be a season 6. A continuation of that stupid episode "Things Change" into the season 6 that episode was meant to be in. I won't say much about future plot points or who's going to get involved in this story, since this is a freakin' huge project. There will be thirteen parts/episodes. Each part will have three acts. Consider "Things Change" to be the first episode of the sixth season. I will be continuing the theme of things changing over time for this season.

ANYWAY, unlike me the Teen Titans show had a team of writers working on the episodes. I'm working by myself. It will come out, but it's not structured like my other stories.

This is the beginning of a long and arduous project. Unfortunately this will not be updated regularly like my other stories. I'm sure you'll understand why. But it will be finished, I guarantee that. But now I'm babbling.

Fasten your seatbelts, keep your hands and feet inside of the vehicle at all times, and prepare for one hell of a ride: I present to you the first act of the first episode of the sixth season!

* * *

**Teen Titans Season 6: The Blorthog Project **

**Episode 1: The Mercenary **

**Act 1 **

**-BB- **

Jump City, California

Main Street

It was nearly nightfall by the time that Beast Boy managed to catch up with the other Titans.

He didn't understand his whole day. While the other Titans were off fighting that shape-shifting monster Beast Boy went in search of the girl who looked like Terra. He transformed from a hawk back to a human and landed on the streets of Jump City. Beast Boy looked up at the dark night sky. The light from the city washed out most of the stars, but he could still see a lot.

_Terra liked to be outside, _Beast Boy thought. _She liked the outdoors. That's where she belonged. _

A fiery object blazed across the sky. Beast Boy watched the shooting star fizzle out of existence as it streaked across the stratosphere, so bright that it left an afterimage upon his retinas. He had never seen a shooting star so bright before.

He still couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to walk away like that.

Tears prickled the edges of his eyes. What if Robin was right? What if he had been imagining things? What if he was so desperate to see Terra again that he allowed his mind to play tricks on him? At the same time Beast Boy felt as though walking away was the right thing to do.

Soon Beast Boy managed to find them. Instead of fighting the strange monster they were at the Jump City Police Department discussing the situation with the local commissioner. They looked up when he entered the room. Honestly, Beast Boy felt a little uncomfortable walking in like this. He did feel a little guilty about ditching them when they needed his help. While he could be a slacker at times, Beast Boy wanted to be a reliable person. He _could _be a reliable, competent leader when he wanted to be. His leadership against the Brotherhood of Evil proved that.

"Uh…hi," Beast Boy said. "Did you manage to beat that monster—thing?"

"No," Robin replied bluntly. "It got away again."

Beast Boy had to stop himself from flinching at the coldness in Robin's voice. He knew that Robin and the others wouldn't be happy that he ditched, but he still wasn't ready for the lecture.

"We could have used your assistance," Starfire said.

Did the others really believe that he had ditched them on purpose? The Titans had dealt with worse things than that monster. For crying out loud, they just defeated the Brotherhood of Evil! A bunch of old guys who did all they could to bring down the next generation of young heroes. Beast Boy's ears drooped.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I had to know."

The others exchanged glances. Was there anything they could say to him? Well, they had given him grief all day about him ditching the team. Beast Boy was prepared for more, especially from Robin. Sometimes the guy took himself way too seriously.

"Well, did you find anything?" Robin asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm trying to let her go." Beast Boy paused. "Slade showed up."

Well, that was partly true. At once the other Titans tensed. None of them had heard from Slade for about a year. Ever since they defeated Trigon Slade disappeared from the criminal scene. Truthfully, Beast Boy had expected to see Slade among the members of the Brotherhood of Evil. But it appeared as though the criminal mastermind thought himself better than those losers.

"What?"

Of course it was Robin who spoke first.

"Well, Slade didn't show up himself," Beast Boy admitted, "a Sladebot came and confronted me. Just like that time you became Red X."

It was out of rage that Beast Boy managed to flatten the robot. Robin had been barely able to defeat the Slade replica when he fought against it the first time. Unlike Robin, though, Beast Boy had powers. When he fought the real Slade on top of the Ferris Wheel he managed to hold his own. That was something Robin couldn't do, and Beast Boy knew that it pissed the Boy Wonder off.

"The Sladebot…" Robin said. This put Robin in a thoughtful mood. Suddenly his masked eyes widened. "The monster we've been trying to catch is a robot."

"The shape-shifting monster?" Cyborg asked. "A robot? I don't know…"

"When we were fighting it I managed to get pretty close," Robin said. "Its eye…it's a camera. As for its shape-shifting abilities, I've definitely seen similar types of creatures. For instance Batman and the Justice League fought off an Amazo before..."

He paused, as though surprised that he mentioned Batman. Everyone else shot him an odd glance as well. No matter how many times Beast Boy pressed the Boy Wonder to talk about his relationship with the Batman Robin wouldn't talk about him, let alone the entire Justice League.

"What's an Amazo?" Beast Boy asked.

"An android that is able to copy Metahuman powers. Once it stole all of the powers of all of the JLA members. While it doesn't seem to be an Amazo it could very well be a prototype or some variation of it."

How did Robin know these things? Guess that was a bonus that came with growing up with Batman and the Justice League.

"I have a feeling that it's been leading us on a merry chase," he said finally. "As a distraction."

"To distract us from what, though?" Raven asked.

"I'm not sure," Robin said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "but we're going to find out."

"But why would Slade be behind this?" Starfire asked. "This does not make sense."

"Yeah…since when have his robots been so sophisticated?" Cyborg chimed in. "We've always been able to beat the snot out of his robots."

Yeah, now that Beast Boy thought about it Robin's theory was strange. If the shape-shifting monster was indeed a robot then it was a pretty sophisticated one. But of course, Robin was the detective. Speaking of detective…

"Are you going to call Batman or the Justice League to make sure that it isn't an Amazo?" Beast Boy asked. "Because I don—"

He flinched at the death stare Robin gave him. Why did Robin have to do that? Sure, he understood Robin's desire for independence, but why did he have to act so cold towards Batman? Didn't he keep up with them on occasion?

"If it is then we'll be able to stop it," Robin said, "we don't need to Justice League's help."

Well, Beast Boy would love to meet the Justice League anyway.

"We'll resume our search for it in the morning," Robin said. "It'll be impossible to find it in the dark anyway. Let's go back to the Tower."

The others nodded in agreement. As they dispersed to go back to their rooms Beast Boy found himself staying behind in the common room. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while. Right now he felt irked at Robin's coarse attitude towards all of this.

What was with Robin sometimes?

Although Beast Boy didn't want to think ill of his friend, he knew that Robin wasn't infallible. Sometimes he acted like he knew best. That attitude probably came from being raised by Batman. But over time Beast Boy noticed that Robin's tough guy attitude had changed over the years. He became a little more laid back. Still, Beast Boy knew that no matter how much time passed Robin would always get tense whenever Slade was brought into the equation. Beast Boy didn't blame him.

Beast Boy understood Robin's hesitancy to talk about his mentor because sometimes Beast Boy felt the same way. But what if Batman ever got into trouble? Would Robin take the Titans to go help him in Gotham?

Something told Beast Boy that he would.

**-R- **

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

Slade was back.

Robin ran a hand through his spiky hair. He knew that this day was going to come sooner or later. It had been a long while since the Titans had heard from Slade. They were too busy off fighting the Brotherhood of Evil in Paris to worry about what Slade was up to in Jump City.

_"I'd rather you didn't see that," Slade breathed, placing his mask back upon his face. "But this is only a temporary condition."_

_Robin simply stood there will his mouth hanging open a little. For the longest time—ever since he had heard of Slade—Robin wanted to see the man unmasked. He knew Slade to be a hard, cold, calculating man. Not like this. It was strange, seeing this whole new side of Slade. _

_Several thoughts ran through his mind. All at once he pitied Slade's condition, but he couldn't make himself feel sympathy. This was a man who had died and who should have stayed dead. A man who had made others suffer. Slade didn't deserve pity. _

That was the last time Robin had a "heart-to-heart" conversation with Slade. Now that they were arch-enemies again Robin wasn't sure how they would interact. Would things be different between them now?

No.

They were still enemies.

He didn't want to fall back into his old habits. Robin knew that his obsession with Slade had come and gone, but somehow the man kept coming back to him like a sadistic yo-yo. Even though they teamed up together to defeat Trigon Slade would always be one of the Titans' worst enemies.

His hands tightened into fists.

None of this made any sense. If what Beast Boy said was true about the Sladebot, then why would Slade get involved in something like this? Why would he bring his old apprentice back to life? Or, if he wasn't the one who reversed the effects of the stone, then why would he be defending her? Robin felt as if he was the only one who could answer this question. Although Slade wasn't as obsessed with him as before Robin felt as if he knew Slade the best.

Sure, Slade freaked Raven out during the whole Trigon thing. Sure, Beast Boy was mad at Slade for getting involved in Terra's supposed resurrection. But unlike the others, Robin had actually lived with the man. There was no denying the fact that he knew Slade the best. So what was his motivation for doing this? He didn't know.

And Robin wasn't okay with that.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand. If the others knew that he was beginning to stir up old habits they would kill him. He didn't want to go back to his old self. More importantly, though, he didn't want to fall into the same trap as he did last time. Slade was a master of psychology, so even talking to him was like playing a mental game of chess.

_Don't get too involved in this, _Robin thought, _remember what happened all of those other times. It never ends well. _

Robin didn't want to make the same mistake again. But he had promised himself that before and he had broken that promise when the dust incident happened. Why had he let himself fall into that trap? Why is it that he kept falling for Slade's tricks over and over again? Well, this time Robin promised himself that if he needed help he would call the other Titans.

Even if it hurt his pride.

Robin glanced at the clock. It was getting late and he knew that he should go to bed. He knew that Alfred would tell him to stop acting like Bruce. Sometimes he needed a distraction. Turning away from his desk, Robin opened his laptop to check his email. He hadn't been able to talk to anyone back in Gotham for a while, since the team was busy dealing with the Brotherhood of Evil. His heart leapt when he saw that he got an email from Alfred. He opened it.

_Master Richard, _

_Master Bruce and I heard about your team's achievement in apprehending the Brotherhood of Evil. I commend for that and I am sure that Master Bruce does as well. We miss you back in Gotham and hope that you will be able to visit soon. _

_However, I am speaking for Master Bruce here: you must call him, Dick. There is a matter that you two must discuss together concerning your future. Not only as Dick Grayson, but also as Robin. I will say nothing more on the matter, since this is something that the two of you must discuss on your own. _

_-Alfred _

Robin read through the email again. Was Alfred implying that…that Bruce wanted him to stop being Robin? After rubbing his face and reading through the email again Robin became sure that that was exactly what Alfred was implying.

A future…his future…

He exited out of his email and powered down his laptop. Leading the Titans had always been Robin's top priority. Technically, Robin knew that he was still a minor and under Bruce's legal guardianship. Was it because he was nearing the age of eighteen?

He didn't know what to think.

After all of these years being separated from Bruce Robin thought that the man would finally get out of his life. But he supposed that he would always be at the end of "Batman and Robin" no matter where he went. As long as he was wearing this costume he would always be connected with Batman.

Why was he always connected to someone? Robin got up and left his bedroom, intending to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Now that he thought about it, he always seemed to be part of some team. First he was the youngest Flying Grayson. Then, after his parents died, he became Batman's sidekick Robin. When he had gotten tired of Bruce's controlling attitude then he moved to Jump City and formed the Teen Titans. And, even for the briefest time, he worked alongside Slade.

When would he become his own man? Did he have to prove anything to anyone?

He rubbed his forehead as he thought about these things. Now that things had quieted down a bit since their victory over the Brotherhood of Evil he actually had time to think about these things. Why was Bruce suddenly so interested in talking to him again? He knew that the Titans had proved to be a competent team. They saved the world from Trigon. If anything, the older heroes in the superhero community shouldn't be thinking of them as kids anymore.

As he entered the main room he realized that Beast Boy was still there. Instead of watching TV or playing video games he was just sitting there doing nothing. He shouldn't have given Beast Boy such a hard time about Terra…not after everything Beast Boy did to save the team from the Brotherhood of Evil. And Robin knew what it was like to lose someone you love.

"Beast Boy…I'd like to talk to you."

Beast Boy looked up at the sound of Robin's voice.

"I…I know this whole thing with Terra must be hard for you," Robin said. "Sometimes we just see what we want to see."

"How can you possibly understand, Robin?"

The boy wonder looked at him. He had never shared much personal information with any of the other Titans, except for that time when his suitcase was stolen. He showed them what was in his suitcase: a picture of his parents. A poster for the Flying Graysons.

"I've seen a lot of death in my life," Robin said, his voice nearly a whisper. "My parents were murdered in front of me. Believe me, Beast Boy, you have no idea how much I would love to see them again."

The changeling's eyes widened. Robin realized that he had much civil conversations with Beast Boy since he became a Titan. Robin thought of his own parents and of the pain he felt as he watched them fall to their deaths. For a moment Beast Boy fell silent, perhaps thinking about his own tragic past as well.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"Once before I tried to extract revenge on the man who killed my parents," Robin replied, "Batman stopped me from beating the man to a bloody pulp."

He could remember that night as clearly as he remembered watching his parents die. Although Beast Boy was probably the most lighthearted Titan Robin knew that Beast Boy held a beast within himself. Sometimes he was under the impression that Beast Boy hid behind his humor to hide the pain he felt inside.

"It's not worth it," Robin said, "to extract revenge. Someone else will end up getting hurt."

Yes, someone always got hurt. He had to help Batman limp home, since he got injured while fighting Tony Zucco's men. There were so many things he could go after Slade for, but unless the man showed himself then Robin wasn't going to go after him alone.

"It's just…I got so mad at him," Beast Boy said. "I've always been pissed off at Slade for doing those terrible things to Terra…"

"So you destroyed the robot? What if that was Slade? What if you had killed him?"

Beast Boy shot him an evil glance. For a moment Robin was reminded of just how much power Beast Boy had. He was reminded of the beast inside of the changeling. Robin's eyes narrowed as he felt himself tense.

"So?" Beast Boy asked. "Even if I did then he would be one less threat to deal with."

Robin didn't like Beast Boy's new attitude. Unlike Robin, Beast Boy could accidentally kill someone much more easily than Robin could. What he did was out of rage and rash. Before the changeling could protest Robin grabbed a fistful of Beast Boy's uniform.

"Listen to me," Robin snarled, surprised by his own harsh tone, "take that attitude somewhere else. When I worked for Slade he tried to train me as an assassin. He tried to teach me how to kill."

Beast Boy's expression softened, but Robin wasn't done talking.

"Think of your dead loved ones. If we kill then we'll sink just as low as the other villains. That's a lesson I learned on my own without Batman's help."

The Boy Wonder released his friend. For a good minute Beast Boy sat on the couch, mulling over Robin's words. Robin sat down himself and placed his head in his hand. He had never admitted to anyone before that Slade was an assassin. He didn't want to tell the others that Slade tried to teach him how to kill. The words simply slipped out of his mouth, and now he couldn't do anything to take them back.

The changeling looked down at the floor for a moment.

"Slade tried to train you as an assassin?"

Robin fidgeted when Beast Boy said this. To think that Beast Boy would be the first person he would admit this to…not to Starfire, or Bruce or even Alfred, but to the teammate that Robin felt he understood the least.

"Yeah," Robin said, "he's a mercenary."

"After all the horrible things he's done to us, haven't you ever once considered revenge?" Beast Boy asked. "While I was fighting the robot today I felt so angry…I didn't even care if I killed Slade."

"When I trained underneath him I won't deny that I thought about killing him if it meant saving you guys. Of course I've thought about revenge, but honestly I'm more worried about being the object of revenge."

Well, that much was true. As the former partner of the Dark Knight Robin probably had more villains out for his blood than anyone else on the team. There were people in Gotham—most of them now in Arkham—who wanted him dead.

"If Slade is involved, then what are we going to do about him?"

"Slade likes to play mind games. He'll always be our enemy." Then, in a voice almost too low for Beast Boy to hear, Robin added, "and always my arch-enemy."

He knew that Beast Boy had heard that. But that's how Robin always thought of Slade. They would always be enemies. Out of all of the Titans he held a much more personal grudge with the man. He knew that it was self-centered to think that way, but that was how he felt. They would always be at odds with each other no matter what.

"Dude," Beast Boy said, "he's my enemy as much as yours."

"I feel as though he's always coming after me." Robin grimaced. "He always taunts me…always comes after me…"

"I hate Slade as much as you do," Beast Boy said. "For what he's done to us…for what he did to Terra…"

This, then, was something that they had in common.

"If Slade is behind this then we'll defeat him together," Beast Boy said. "You and me."

Beast Boy raised up his fist. A little baffled, Robin lifted up his closed fist and watched in silence as Beast Boy bumped fists with him. A comical smile spread across Beast Boy's face.

"Come on, Rob," he said, nudging Robin in the ribs with his elbow. "Whatever happened to all of those puns you made when you worked with Bats?"

"I…don't really want to talk about Batman right now."

Robin didn't want to talk about the Dark Knight. Even after all of these years with his team he was still reluctant to talk to them about him. It didn't help that he and Bruce ended on such sour terms. A bad parting of ways that Robin never really apologized for.

"Listen, we should go to bed," Robin said. "I need to go to bed."

He turned away and headed back towards his bedroom. Robin didn't hear Beast Boy follow him into the hallway. Honestly, though, he had a lot on his mind.

**-C- **

The next morning Cyborg woke up bright and early, perhaps earlier than usual.

He was worried about a lot of things. BB was his best friend, and seeing him so distraught didn't do anything to help Cyborg's mood. Although he wasn't as close to Terra as BB was her betrayal and death did affect him.

He heard noise coming from the gym.

Intrigued, Cyborg diverted his walk to the kitchen to the gym. He had a suspicion that he knew who it was, but why would he be up this early in the morning? Cyborg opened the door to the gym and blinked in the sudden light.

Robin was jabbing violently at a punching bag, grunting loudly as he attacked the thing. What the hell was Robin doing up this early in the morning training? This was early, even for Robin. The Boy Wonder didn't pay any attention to Cyborg. He hadn't even noticed that the door had opened.

"Uh…Robin, what are you doing?"

Robin's head snapped up at the sound of his name. Sweat poured down his face and soaked his uniform. His cheeks were flushed red. His normally spiked hair was plastered to his forehead and his masked eyes were wide. For a brief moment Cyborg thought that Robin's face looked like that of an innocent child caught stealing candy.

Cyborg walked forward and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You don't have to do this to yourself."

To his surprise Robin wrenched his way out of Cyborg's grip. He took a quick drink of water and then headed back to the punching bag. Cyborg watched him with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Sure, back when he was an athlete he worked himself hard…but never as hard as this.

"What is this all about, Robin?" Cyborg asked. "It's been years since you've acted like this. Is it because Slade's back?"

Robin's face twisted into a grimace, but Cyborg wasn't about to back down. He knew Robin well enough to know when something was wrong with him. In the weeks following the apprenticeship the Titans watched Robin train himself harder and harder, as though trying to prove to himself that he wasn't weak. Of course the others made him stop but sometimes Cyborg couldn't help but notice that Robin still did this to himself. No one could ever really wash away the physical and mental scars of the past.

"It's…well…it's just that…" Robin couldn't seem to find the right words to say. "It's not just about Slade."

"Then what?"

Robin began to wipe his face dry with a towel. A pained expression crossed his face as he looked up at Cyborg. The cybernetic teen crossed his arms over his chest. Sometimes the kid needed a little prodding. He wouldn't allow Robin to bottle up his emotions again. Before he could ask him again Robin spoke.

"I'm not sure if I'll continue being Robin," he said quietly. "I may have to leave the team."

Cyborg could not hide the shock on his face. "You can't do that!"

"But it isn't my choice, is it?" Robin asked, his voice still quiet. "I didn't start out as Robin on my own."

At once Cyborg understood the problem. Last night Robin must have gotten a call from his mentor regarding his superhero activities. But why would Batman do that? Wasn't the reason Robin left Gotham was because Batman wanted him to become his own man? Why would Batman suddenly take over Robin's life again?

"He's not seriously going to fly out here—"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Robin sounded a little defeated. "I have a feeling that I know what's it's all about though. Like it or not I have a civilian life. I can't do this forever."

Cyborg didn't know what to think. Robin was their leader, he couldn't just abandon them now. Not after all the Titans had been through together. Surely Batman understood that. Batman had to understand that. But at the same time Cyborg could see the logic in those words. While Jump City and Batman financed Titans Tower being a superhero wasn't exactly a day job. Robin was the only Titan without superpowers. The only one who could hope to lead a normal life here on Earth.

"What are you going to do?"

Robin sighed.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure yet. I have to call him sometime soon to talk about it."

"Do you believe that it's right to put away the mask now?" Cyborg asked. "After all we've been through?"

The Boy Wonder smiled weakly.

"I know that someday I'll have to stop being Robin. I just don't know when that day is. I'll figure something out."

He didn't sound too sure of himself. Cyborg never liked seeing his leader act weak. He himself wasn't sure how to feel about this. While he knew that Robin had a rocky relationship with his mentor Cyborg knew that Robin respected him and his authority. If Batman—or whoever was under the mask—didn't want him to be Robin anymore then Robin might just do it.

"Ok…" Cyborg said. "Just…just don't push yourself like that, ok? It's not healthy."

Robin let out a low sigh. "Fine. You're right. I shouldn't be doing this."

The Boy Wonder picked up his towel and began to wipe his face dry.

"Oh, and Cyborg," Robin said, turning back around, "please don't tell the others. Not yet, anyway."

The Boy Wonder hung his head and walked away. Cyborg opened his mouth to call out to him again, but then he decided against it. Robin was right. This wasn't something that the others had to know right away. And to think that this was coming after their grand defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil. Cyborg shook his head one more time before heading to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

**-S- **

She didn't sleep well these nights.

Starfire woke with a start. Slowly, she sat up in bed and glanced at her clock. It was so early in the morning. She didn't need to be up for another two hours.

Instead of trying to go back to sleep Starfire pulled the purple bedcovers off of herself and got out of bed. The first feeling that overcame her was confusion. Ever since they came back from Paris she thought that things would go back to normal.

They hadn't.

She lifted up her hands and rubbed her tired eyes. Fighting that strange creature yesterday did nothing to help her mood. Things had changed since they left Jump City. Buildings were torn down. People came and left. And Terra—whom Starfire had presumed died in the fight with Slade—had suddenly come back to life. Or so Beast Boy said.

The Tamaranean wasn't sure what to think about that. In her heart she desperately wanted Terra to be alive. Albeit the girl's sudden betrayal Terra had been Starfire's friend. Nothing could ever change the fact that Terra gave up her life to save the other Titans.

_I really should go back to sleep, _she thought.

Starfire forced herself to lie back down on the bed. Why did she feel so anxious? There was nothing particularly stressful going on besides this business with Terra. However, she had this itching feeling that she should call Galfore to ask about Tamaran. The Titans had been so busy fighting the Brotherhood of Evil that she hadn't had the time to check in with Galfore.

_No, I should not be resting. _

Starfire walked out of her room and began to walk down the hallway. Although she usually liked to keep an optimistic attitude about her several things had been gnawing at her mind. Even though she was here on Earth helping to protect Jump City she was still in line for the throne. If ever she needed to become the new Empress of Tamaran she knew that Galfore would step down.

To her surprise she heard voices coming from the gym. Immediately she diverted her steps toward the voices. Although they sounded muffled she recognized them as belonging to Robin and Cyborg. What were they doing so early in the morning? Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to listen to their conversation. They sounded like they were arguing about something.

"-it's not my choice, is it?"

What were they talking about? As she stayed to listen she realized that Robin was speaking about not...well...continue being Robin anymore. What did this mean?

Before she could open the door or do anything the door swung open. Robin strode out of the gym with a grim expression on his face, his shoulders slumped as he walked stiffly away.

"Robin?"

She watched him stiffen as soon as he heard her voice. He spun around and faced her, the eyeholes of his mask widening in surprise. Even in the semi-darkness she could see his flushed cheeks and sweaty face.

"How much of that conversation did you hear?"

Starfire didn't know what to say. He just sounded so…angry. Robin stood there, shaking, unable to think of anything to say to her. For some reason she felt guilty for running into him while he was like this, but at the same time she knew that he needed her. He just didn't like to say it.

"Enough."

Without saying anything more she wrapped him up in a hug. As they hugged Starfire couldn't help but notice that he was getting taller. All at once he was the same boy whom she met her first day here on earth…and yet at the same time he was someone different. His voice had gotten lower. His muscles had fleshed out. She noticed that he sometimes had stubble on his chin.

"This is silly…" he said in a low voice. "I shouldn't be getting upset over something like this…"

"It is all right to be upset sometimes," Starfire said.

They broke apart. She knew that it was hard for Robin to express his emotions. He usually let his emotions bottle up until he exploded. She supposed that that was a result of being trained by the Batman.

"I don't even know what I'm upset about," Robin said, trying to laugh. "I mean, I don't know for sure what he wants to talk to me about…it's just…"

He trailed off. Sometimes it was difficult for Starfire to understand the whole concept of secret identities. She understood that he had a family that he needed to protect, a family outside of the Teen Titans.

"Crime-fighting has become such a part of me…fighting with you guys has become a part of me…I don't want to leave Jump City."

"I am sure that you will be fine, Robin."

He raised his hand and touched the edge of his mask. An odd sensation went through her as a small smile spread across his face.

"What if I decide to quit being Robin?" he asked. "If something happens…if I have to quit and go away to school…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is this: we've been through so much together, Star. I want you to know who I am."

A shock tingled through her body when she heard this. As his friend Starfire had glimpsed his true face once or twice, but never long enough to see the color of his eyes. Always in darkness or when he needed to change quickly.

"You don't have to do that—"

Robin peeled away his mask and opened his eyes. Words of protest stopped flowing from her mouth as her breath caught in her throat. He had a pair of the most dazzling blue eyes that she had ever seen. Robin looked so different without the mask.

"Robin, you don't have to do this—"

"I think that it's been far past the point when I should you my secret identity," Robin said. "After all, Slade knows who I am."

Her green eyes widened at this. How could he say it so nonchalantly? The Tamaranean placed her hands over her mouth. Why hadn't Robin mentioned this before? As soon as Robin saw her horrified look a pained expression went over his face. He reached up and took her hands in his, squeezing it a little to comfort her.

"Why—why didn't you tell us?"

He merely looked at her, his eyes betraying more emotion than he ever could with his mask on. As though to reassure her that everything was fine he squeezed her hands a little. Yet somehow Starfire knew deep down inside her that Slade _would _know Robin's secret identity. It was the sort of thing that the criminal mastermind would do.

"It's not important," he said, looking away from her. "It happened a long time ago."

"What do you mean it is not important?" Starfire asked hotly. "This is something that you must share with your friends."

"Look," Robin said. "Can we talk about this some other time?"

He looked like he regretted mentioning that to her. But now Starfire was going to become insistent about this. She wasn't going to back down now that he admitted this her. She didn't feel angry just…concerned. Curious.

"Why did you not tell us?"

"Because I didn't want you guys to worry about me!" Robin snapped. "It's been three years, Star. Slade's not a threat anymore. I can take care of myself."

Although he tried to keep his voice straight she thought that she heard it waver. He had held back his fear before, and the other Titans didn't realize just how deeply that fear ran until someone activated the dust in Slade's mask.

Nervously, Robin avoided her eyes and examined the wall. Why did he always keep these things to himself?

"My name is—"

He stopped speaking when he heard a door open. Raven stepped out into the hallway.

"Why is everyone up so early?" she asked.

Raven paused when she saw them together, her violet eyes fixated on Robin's face. They widened slightly, but then the empath turned away. Without speaking Robin placed the mask back over his face. As soon as he did this the alarms began to bleep.

Trouble.

With a swish of his cape he turned towards the common room, ignoring the stares from both Raven and Starfire. This would have to be explained later. After a moment Starfire began to follow, several different thoughts whirling in her head.

Even with all of these crazy things happening in their personal lives it always came back down to this. It didn't matter what was going on: they had to respond to the city's alarm whenever there was trouble about.

Time to be a hero again.

**-Rae- **

"The JCPD has been tracking the thing for us," Cyborg said, his fingers typing quickly as he brought up a window displaying the areas in which the monster had been seen. "It's back downtown again."

Like everyone else, Raven felt miffed that they didn't bring down the monster yesterday. She wasn't sure if she agreed with Robin's theory that the monster was a robot, but then again she wasn't the detective here.

"Titans, move out!" Robin snapped.

They left the Tower and went downtown. All of the while Raven couldn't stop thinking about Beast Boy's story about what happened yesterday. Even though Beast Boy said that he let the supposed Terra go Raven could still feel his apprehension. It leaked from him like steam over hot water.

Raven wasn't sure how she felt about the whole situation. While she was also curious about whether or not the girl Beast Boy met was Terra, she felt as though there were more pressing matters at hand. Her relationship with the girl didn't end well. The last time they really interacted was when they fought in the mud, both women attempting to drown the other in a battle for their lives.

Soon they arrived in downtown Jump. Each of the Titans tensed, waiting for the creature to reappear. Raven didn't like fighting the creature. Robin's theory that it was an android or a robot actually made sense, since she couldn't sense the creature's mind.

And if his theory was correct, then why would Slade be behind this? Raven didn't like Slade as much as the rest of the Titans, though possibly more since Slade managed to frighten her badly just before Trigon came.

"If any of you spot the monster then notify me at once," Robin said through the communicator. "We have to bring it down together."

"Why don't we just call for backup?" Raven asked. "The other honorary Titans—"

"Have their own problems to worry about," Robin replied. "This is our city. We protect it. If things get too out of hand then we'll call for backup."

Always the strict one. Well, that was why Robin was their leader, wasn't it? Raised in Gotham and trained by the Dark Knight. It seemed as though he had a lot to live up to. Sometimes Raven felt as though Robin tried too hard to distance himself from Batman. Inevitably, he ended up exhibiting many of the gruff qualities of his mentor.

"Roger that," Raven said.

She glanced over at Beast Boy, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He gazed out into space, perhaps thinking about his meeting with the girl from yesterday. Raven forced herself to stop looking at him as her violet eyes gazed out at the skyline of Jump City. Once before she saw this city in flames when her father came through the portal to this world. She was glad that she had been able to do something to save this world she had come to love. To save the friends that had become her family.

"Let's just get this over with," Beast Boy said. "We should have taken down this thing yesterday. I should have helped."

_Yes, you should have, _Raven thought.

However, Raven didn't voice those thoughts out loud. It wouldn't do them any good if she caused strife between them. That wasn't what Beast Boy needed at the moment.

All at once their communicators began to bleep crazily. Everyone took out their communicators and flipped them open. Raven wondered who was on the other line. The JCPD?

"Titans! Good to see you all!"

Everyone tensed at the sound of that silky, dangerous voice they knew well. Beside her Beast Boy froze completely as he gazed down at his communicator. Raven couldn't help but grimace at Slade's ugly face.

"I'd love to chat, but I'm afraid that I have things to do," Slade said, "if you want to catch up, I suggest that you come and find me. I'm sure your leader is more than capable of doing that."

And with those words Slade's voice fizzed out of existence.

"We've got a lock on Slade's location," Robin said. "If Slade's connected with Terra's reappearance or the monster then we're going after him! Let's go, Titans!"

Beast Boy and Raven exchanged glances. It had been some time since Robin exhibited his obsessive behavior, but if Robin was right then they shouldn't think too much about it. Both Raven and Beast Boy leapt into the air and flew towards the column of smoke. It was clear that Slade wanted to get their attention.

Well, he certainly got it.

* * *

**End of Act 1 **

**A/N: **Good? Bad? Tell me!

Even though I absolutely despise the episode "Things Change" the reason I despise it is because none of these plot points were ever resolved.

And yes, since I am a fan of writing Slade vs. Robin fics, there will be plenty of that rivalry tension here. Actually, I think there will a little something for everyone in the episodes to come.

Right now I'm trying to set up most of the plotlines that will be explored in greater depth in the coming episodes. I'm also continuing with my theory that Slade knows who Robin is. For those of you who read my other story "Dust" I kind of go deeper into my theories about that there. In the comics Slade definitely knows who Dick Grayson is.

Stay awesome, guys.


	2. Episode 1: Act 2

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to DC Comics.

**A/N: **

Sorry for the late update. I was out fighting crime.

I told you this wouldn't be updated regularly. This is a side project that I will work on alongside one other multi-chaptered fic at a time. Let's see…a schedule…well, the other ongoing chapters of my other fic are updated weekly. So let's say that TBP will be updated every two to three weeks. As Titansfan1211 pointed out: I AM THE GODDESS OF SUBPLOTS. I need to take my time with this, since there are so many subplots and things for me to keep track of. I hope you understand.

Also, I would also like to let you all know that _I am starting a superhero webcomic on Deviantart. _I'm writing the script and my friend is drawing. We are under the username **EliTheIntern. **Strips haven't come up yet, but you can look at the preliminary character sketches online.

* * *

**Teen Titans Season 6: The Blorthog Project**

**Episode 1: The Mercenary **

**Act 2**

**-S- **

Jump City, California

A warehouse

They walked through the gears.

She hated the sound of the gears. Whenever she saw or heard them she thought of Slade. Robin strode ahead of them, his eyes turning this way and that as he listened for the monster.

Starfire's thoughts drifted as they strode in silence for a few minutes. Ever since they came back from Paris they've been on high alert, what with this shape-shifting monster and all. Now that Slade was involved it made Robin all the more paranoid.

She couldn't help but think about their encounter that morning. Now whenever she looked at him she couldn't help but see his true face. It was something that she could not un-see. Judging from the expression she saw on Raven's face earlier that morning it was clear that the other Titans did not know either.

"Why do villains always pick the creepy warehouses?" Beast Boy asked. "Can't they go somewhere nicer…?"

"Like where, the beach?" Cyborg asked.

"At least it would be warmer."

Well, when it came to Slade Starfire did not believe that the man would pick any place so cheerful. No villain…except for the Mad Mod, perhaps. Or maybe Mumbo. Or (she shuddered) perhaps Mother Mae-Eye. It was strange to think that most of the criminals that they fought had their hideouts in old warehouses.

Starfire looked to her side at Raven, who was walking silently beside her. For once she didn't comment on the conversation. What was going through her head?

"Good morning, Titans."

Starfire and the other Titans tensed when they heard Slade's voice. Nothing would ever be like the time they encountered the man when they thought that he was dead. This time around the Titans knew that Slade was alive. They knew that it would only be a matter of time before Slade decided to act again.

"Come out and fight, Slade!" Robin spat, his grip on his bo-staff tightening.

"Is that how you're going to talk to an old friend, Robin?" Slade's voice asked. "After all we've been through together…"

Before anyone could say anything Robin threw a fistful of explosive disks into the darkness. Starfire raised an arm to block falling debris. The other Titans scattered to avoid the debris, each Titan assuming his or her costmary battle stance. Their leader stood shock still, his body tensing as something dark rushed past them.

"I have missed you Titans," Slade said, his voice seeming to come from everywhere. "I thought that the Brotherhood of Evil would have wiped you out. Apparently not."

Even in the semi-darkness Starfire could see that Robin's body was trembling. Whether it was from anger or fear she didn't know.

"I noticed that you weren't part of the Brotherhood," Robin said, trying his best to sound tough, "But your butler was. Why is that, Slade?"

The other Titans exchanged strange glances. Slade had a butler? Of course, only Robin would know something like that. To Starfire's surprise Slade was silent for a moment. Had Robin actually managed to catch the mercenary off guard?

"Wintergreen and I have…split, to say the least."

Even Starfire noticed a hint of anger simmering behind Slade's silky words. Like the rest of the Titans probably felt, Starfire felt as though she was listening in on an inside joke. Who was Wintergreen and what was his connection with Slade? Starfire made a mental note to ask Robin about that later.

Starbolts sizzled into existence as Starfire caught sight of Slade appearing from the darkness. The mercenary stepped in front of Robin so suddenly that the Boy Wonder stumbled backwards in surprise.

"What? Have you gotten so soft already, Boy Wonder?"

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask as his grip tightened on the bo-staff.

"No."

Without another word between them they began to fight.

She levitated in the air above Slade and Robin, who were now fighting furiously. It was always so strange to watch them fight. She told Robin once before that they were alike—and Robin admitted it himself.

There was always something between them that Starfire would never understand. Robin's hatred for the man ran deep, and whenever they happened to clash the Titans usually made sure to stay out of their way. Unless, of course, Robin needed help.

The criminal mastermind grabbed Robin by the arm and flung him into the air. Starfire flew to his side and caught him. With a roar she flung him back towards Slade. Robin twisted in the air as he grabbed two bird-a-rangs from his utility belt. With a grunt he flung them towards Slade's face. They bounced harmlessly off of Slade's steel arm guards.

"Fighting with the Tamaranean now, are you?" Slade asked, his tone amused.

The Boy Wonder rolled on the ground to break his fall, his bo-staff now in his hand. A wry smile crossed Robin's face.

"Why? You scared, Slade?"

"Not in the slightest."

Together she and Robin took on Slade. Her eyes glowed brightly as she fluttered around, throwing her starbolts at Slade whenever Robin leapt aside to allow her to shoot. The criminal mastermind threw up his arms to shield himself from the starbolts. Back when they fought Slade for the first time—when the Titans barged into Slade's haunt to save Robin—she had been the first one to act.

"As touching as this little reunion has been," Slade said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut it short."

Something rumbled in the distance. Before Starfire could deduce what the noise was she found herself spinning through the air as Robin tackled her. He flung his cape over her as he hunched over, clutching Starfire to his chest. The air grew out around them as flames licked the air. Debris fell all around them as Robin bowed his head, trying to protect her from the bomb blast.

Starfire shut her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his frantic heartbeat as she leaned against his chest. The ground trembled violently underneath them as the building began to crumble.

Robin raised his head once the explosions stopped. The lights above them had already exploded, which left them in semi-darkness. He allowed his cape to fall back as he let go of her. The Tamaranean pushed herself to her knees and looked around the darkness. They were still holding hands, but Robin's grip on her wrist was tight.

It was deathly quiet. Now that Slade had bombed the warehouse the gears stopped turning. The only sound she could hear was the pounding of blood in her ears and her frantic breathing. What had happened to the others?

"Are you hurt?" Robin whispered, still leaning protectively over her.

"No."

_Is Slade gone?_

She hated this feeling of uncertainty. It was, to use an Earth expression, like the eye of the storm. The eerie calmness in the middle of a battle before someone decided to blow the building to tiny bits.

A horrible scream of pain racked the air as Robin was yanked backwards into the darkness by his cape. For a few terrifying seconds all she heard was the pounding of fists against flesh as Slade began to pummel Robin in the darkness. Righteous fury bubbled within her as starbolts appeared in her hands, casting the room in a greenish light. For a split second she saw Slade holding Robin up by a fistful of his tunic, his other arm raised to punch Robin again. The eyeholes of Robin's mask were widened in terror and his toes barely brushed the floor.

Pure power rushed through her as she threw her starbolts at the criminal mastermind, the words of Robin's conversation with her that morning flowing through her mind. Even though she knew that it was silly to waste her energy like this Starfire could not help but give it all she could.

Robin fell to the ground as Slade let go of him. Just like before, the force of her starbolts flung him across the room back into the darkness. Robin lay motionless on the ground for a few seconds, as though recomposing himself. Afraid that he was hurt, Starfire flew to his side.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed.

He stirred at the sound of his name.

"I'm fine," Robin said, pushing himself to his feet. "We have to catch Slade. Come on!"

Robin stumbled a little as he put a hand to his side. A purple bruise was beginning to blossom on his cheek as a trickle of blood ran down from a cut on his forehead.

"You're hurt—" Starfire began.

"It's nothing," Robin snapped, throwing out his hand defensively. "Slade's beaten me worse than this before."

A determined expression crossed his face as he said this. Although Starfire didn't like the way he said that she knew that there was nothing she could say or do to make him stop. The Boy Wonder turned to the other Titans, who were now recovering from the sudden attack.

"You guys go after the creature!" Robin shouted. "Starfire and I will go after Slade!"

He did not even bother to wait for a reply. Together they raced out of the warehouse.

**-BB- **

Beast Boy fought with all of the strength he could muster.

He morphed into a T-Rex and opened his jaws wide, roaring so loudly at the creature that the other two Titans covered their ears. It was loud enough to make the creature pause. Beast Boy hoped that it blasted out its eardrums.

"Dude, what's your problem BB?" Cyborg asked.

The mechanical teen's words simply went through Beast Boy's head like the words of a boring lecture. He swung his large body around and used his tail to knock the creature off of its feet. As he flew away screaming Beast Boy transformed back into a human, a grimace on his face.

"I just have a lot of anger to release right now," Beast Boy said, cracking his knuckles. "I just want to get this over with."

Although he felt as though he had gotten control of his feelings after walking away from "Terra" Beast Boy found that his anger had resurfaced. If Terra had really come back alive then why didn't she at least acknowledge the fact that she knew him?

The creature leapt backwards into a pot of boiling metal. Immediately its skin accumulated the fire. Beast Boy didn't even flinch as the sudden wave of heat washed over him. Beside him Raven shielded herself with her powers as Cyborg grimaced.

"Great," Cyborg said. "Now it has fire."

The three Titans backed away as the thing leapt forward, its robotic muscles tensing as the flames around it flashed more fiercely. This was the main problem they were having: the creature could assume the element of anything around it like a sponge. What could they do to not make it so dangerous?

"We have to drive it back into an empty room—or something," Beast Boy said. "We can't give it any more weapons."

The other two nodded curtly. If this was indeed a robot then it would be difficult to wear it out. That meant that they were going to have to act quickly. Like everything it the thing probably had its weak points. Beast Boy had to admit that he didn't have the know-how to pinpoint them.

"Let's do this."

**-R- **

Jump City, California

The Docks

The detective in him was itching to figure this out.

He was glad that Starfire came to his aid when he was fighting Slade. For the past year or so they've been working together as a sort of battle couple. From previous experience Robin knew that he wouldn't be able to beat Slade single-handedly. It was pretentious and egotistical to think that he should be the only one to defeat Slade. After all, the criminal mastermind made sure that he mentally screwed with almost everyone else on the team. Just like Beast Boy said the night before, Robin wasn't the only one with a grudge.

"Robin…" It was Starfire's voice. "Robin…"

He turned his head towards her when he heard his name.

"What is it, Star?"

She walked up so that she was striding beside him. They were alone, just like that had been when they were stranded on that hostile planet together. Perhaps this wasn't quite as awkward, but whenever she acted like this Robin couldn't help but feel nervous.

"I just…how did Slade figure out your secret identity?"

Of course. She always asked her questions at the most awkward times. Robin still wasn't used to that. That probably came from being raised and trained by Batman, who always kept things strictly professional while they were out on patrol. He never tried to make small talk on patrol. It was always Dick who cracked the jokes.

"Why?" He asked, glancing around to make sure no one was around. "I told you, Star: it's no big deal."

"It is to me."

He didn't want to talk about it. Not now. And Robin felt as though he didn't want Starfire to find out about it this way. Of course he meant to tell the team sooner or later. He just…let it slip his mind. He supposed that after all the Titans had been through he should trust them.

"I'll explain everything later. In front of the whole team."

Robin cursed himself silently as soon as he said that. Now that he told her he knew that he was going to have to tell the entire team about his predicament with Batman. Great, just great.

"But why would you not wish to continue being Robin?"

"Star, please, this isn't a good time."

He hated how he was being forced to sound curt, but this really wasn't a great time to talk about it. For the time being he was Robin. That was all that mattered. He would deal with these personal issues once they dealt with this situation and after he called Bruce. His stomach churned at the thought of calling his former mentor.

_Terra…now Slade…_He thought. _Or is this all part of a larger conspiracy we just can't see? _

Robin didn't like this. Not one bit.

And why was he here now?

Now that he thought about it the shape-shifting creature seemed to be attacking random areas of town. But were they random? Robin took out a map of the city and laid it flat upon a wooden box. The eyeholes of his mask narrowed as he began to circle the areas that the monster attacked with a red pen.

The construction site…the recycling center…the warehouse…and now the docks? What was Slade up to? Unless he just decided to run off like the coward Robin knew he was, then why would Slade lead him here?

Something began to bleep softly. Startled, Robin opened his utility belt and found the source of the noise: his Geiger counter. Robin cocked his head in puzzlement as he took the little device out. Why would it be bleeping here?

"Robin?" Starfire asked. "What is it?"

"I'm not quite sure."

He held out the Geiger counter and began to walk around the room, following the rapid clicking of the Geiger counter. What exactly was Slade up to? What was giving off so much radiation? What if Slade wasn't behind this?

"Should we not be searching for Slade?" Starfire asked.

"I'm not sure," Robin replied.

Yes, it felt a little out of character not to be completely obsessed with Slade at the moment. But what if there was a reason that Slade ran here? What if Slade wanted to show them something? The criminal mastermind knew Robin well enough to leave trail of puzzles for him to follow.

Together they walked around the large room, their senses still high on the alert for Slade. Well, if Slade wanted to find them then it would only be too easy. They weren't exactly being quiet. The Geiger Counter began to bleep uncontrollably as they came close to the source.

"I'm going after it," Robin said, stuffing the Geiger counter back into his utility belt, "wait for me here."

"Allow me," Starfire said.

"No, it's fine. I can—"

"The amount of radiation is dangerous for you humans, yes?" Starfire asked. "Radiation does not harm me. I will go and investigate. It is much safer for me to do it."

Before he could stop her Starfire strode forward. Robin opened his mouth to call her name, but then he stopped himself. Starfire could take care of herself. She was a Tamaranean princess trained by the Warlords of Okaara.

The air around him grew cold as he waited for her to return. He didn't like standing around like this. Robin also didn't like the silence. It felt awkward. A cold ocean breeze swept through the room, making him shiver slightly as goosebumps rose on his arms. As he moved to rub warmth back into his arms he noticed sunlight pouring down onto the floor. He turned his head to look up at the ceiling, expecting to see a skylight. However, there was a hole in the ceiling. Had something fallen in?

"I just…I wanted to tell you something, Star," Robin said, his voice sounding odd in the dark room. "Now that we've been talking about Slade…I wanted to say thanks."

A horrible feeling of guilt clenched his stomach. He never said thank you to her for saving him from Slade. Robin always had trouble expressing his feelings towards her. Maybe that was a habit he picked up from growing up with Bruce.

"Thanks for saving me," he continued in a lower voice, "from myself."

Yes, she had done that far too many times. Funny, how even after all of this time he could still be a Boy Blunder. When he worked with Bruce he was always a boy hostage….getting kidnapped by the bad guys all the time. Batman always had to come and save him.

When he moved out to Jump City he wanted to change all that. He wanted to become his own man and move out of Batman's shadow. Yet, somehow, he had managed to become a boy hostage _again. _It was downright irritating. But even as the leader of the Teen Titans Robin felt that he had gone through his own dark days—days in which he acted similar to Bruce. Days when his obsessiveness threatened to consume him.

"Robin!" Starfire's voice shook as she called his name. "I do not like this!"

His head snapped up at the urgency in her voice.

"What is it?"

"I cannot bring it to you for fear of the radiation poisoning!"

Robin found himself at a standstill. The detective in him was itching to know what it was that Starfire found. The Geiger counter was beeping crazily in his hand. Did Slade have something to do with this, or was this merely coincidence? Knowing Slade, Robin wanted to think that there were no such things as coincidences.

Before he could say or do anything more Robin's world began to spin as something hit the back of his head. For a moment he thought that he was going to pass out, but he stayed conscious. He took a few steps forward.

"Still slow, I see."

Immediately Robin prepared for a counterattack. His bo-staff spun in his hands as he shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the fuzzy aftereffect of Slade's blow.

"What are you planning, Slade?" Robin snarled. "We don't have time for your mind games!"

_Meaning that I don't have time for your mind games, _Robin thought.

Although he had grown since he last saw Slade, the mercenary still towered over him. Was Robin always destined to be so short? As an acrobat and a gymnast that was probably a good thing. But it did nothing to help his self-confidence.

"Now why would I tell you that?" Slade asked. "Come now, don't be stupid."

Robin's bruises still smarted, but he forced himself to ignore them. Slowly, they began to circle each other warily. While Robin was still a headstrong kid he knew better than to rush straight at Slade. Whether he wanted to admit it or not he had learned some things from Slade.

With a roar of fury the Tamaranean leapt from the darkness and began to hurl her starbolts at him. She barreled into him. The two tumbled backwards into the darkness.

_"STARFIRE!" _

Panic rose in Robin's chest as he squinted in the darkness, trying to find them. He could hear them fighting in the dark. He tried to remember training with the True Master about fighting in the darkness. He needed to help her. He had to help her.

Robin rushed forward once he saw Starfire's starbolt ignite the air. He threw himself in between Slade and Starfire as the man threw a punch towards Starfire's face. Robin braced himself for the impact, but even then he still wasn't prepared. His arms shook as Slade hit him, his knees threatening to buckle underneath.

"Getting tired already, Robin?" Slade sounded amused. "Thought I taught you better than that."

"I made a vow that I wouldn't ever allow you to hurt my friends again," Robin growled. "I don't have time for idle chat."

With a loud grunt he mustered up his strength and pushed back. Before Slade could counter attack Robin ducked down and swept Slade's feet out from under him. He found himself smirking as Slade crumpled to the floor.

Starfire flew to his side as he pointed his bo-staff at Slade's face. Robin was suspicious that he had managed to make Slade fall down so easily. He knew that he didn't have the physical strength to overpower Slade. So did Slade honestly mess up on his part or was he doing this to lull Robin into a false sense of security?

"Maybe some jail time will loosen your tongue, Slade," Robin said, "you're done."

The greenish light of Starfire's starbolts reflected off of Slade's metal mask. Robin wanted nothing more than to rip it off to see who was underneath. It wasn't enough to see the skeleton in hell. He wanted to see the man who had caused so much suffering. Not just to him, but to his friends. To Raven. Beast Boy. Terra.

Bruce.

"I suppose you are learning something, after all."

Slade dropped something onto the ground. White smoke billowed out and brought tears to Robin's eyes. As he and Starfire coughed he noticed Slade slipping quietly away. He began to cough so hard that his stomach was beginning to hurt.

"I'll be seeing you later, Dick," Slade said softly. "We have unfinished business to attend to."

Robin's eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room. Slade was really gone now. Or perhaps he was just hiding. The coward. Slade had the power the defeat them all, but he always ran away at the last second. Robin hated that about him.

In the distance he heard people screaming. He recognized the voices as the Titans'. Without a glance backwards he and Starfire immediately headed out to help their friends.

**-C- **

This was getting ridiculous.

With Beast Boy helping them the Titans should have been able to defeat this thing. But, like always, Slade magically appeared and separated them all. That's the exact same technique that the Brotherhood of Evil used to try to destroy the Titans across the globe. That was their weakness.

Out of the corner of his eye Cyborg noticed something odd. The sudden heat was causing a nearby generator to overheat.

"LOOK OUT!" Cyborg shouted. "It's gonna blow!"

Too late.

The force of the sudden blast knocked Raven off of her feet. A yell escaped from her lips as she held her arms over her face. For a moment her eyes snapped shut as the explosion knocked her unconscious. Time seemed to slow down as the boys watched her fly across the room. Panic spiked across his chest as she crashed through a window and into a ravine below.

"RAVEN!"

The two boys rushed to the side, but Cyborg couldn't see anything. His heart was pumping madly in his metal chest. He couldn't see her. Almost at once Beast Boy transformed into an eagle and streaked down towards the ravine.

"Hey!"

Did Beast Boy just ditch him?

Cyborg was whipped back to reality as he heard the creature come stampeding towards him. Great, just great. Now he had to deal with this thing by himself. Cyborg grimaced as his arm transformed into his sonic cannon. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop this thing by himself, so he wasn't even going to try. If the thing managed to get away from Cyborg was sure that Robin wouldn't get mad at him for not being able to catch it. Raven was more important.

Beast Boy said that they had to drive the creature backwards into a small space. If Robin were here then Cyborg would suggest using the sonic boom to blow the stupid thing up. Now that they knew it was an android or robot of some sort Cyborg wouldn't feel guilty for blowing it up. And if Slade did build it, then great. Even more reason to destroy it.

**-Rae- **

She slowly came back to consciousness.

Raven could still hear the fighting going on up above, although noise sounded slightly muffled in her ears. Strange…her eyes began to ring slightly. When she opened her eyes she saw the dirt ground and some trash scattered around her. She pushed herself to her knees and placed a hand to her throbbing forehead. There was something warm and sticky on her forehead. Raven brought away her hand and found blood on it.

After a minute of recomposing herself Raven remembered where she was and what had happened. She became aware of the pain in her lower back, head, and legs. Shallow cuts and scrapes covered her body, although her flesh wounds weren't her main concern. The ringing in her ears did. The explosion…it must have messed with her hearing. She must have been close to the explosion.

A shadow of an eagle fell upon her. Raven didn't have to look up to know that it was Beast Boy. The shadow grew larger as he transformed back into a young man and slid down the rocky wall towards her.

"You didn't have to come down here," Raven said, "I can take care of myself."

It was strange seeing him so serious. This kind of attitude felt out of place, even for Beast Boy. He was always the goofy one who cracked bad jokes at the worst times. He could be genuinely funny when he wanted to be. Whenever he tried too hard his jokes were painful to listen to.

"It isn't a crime to see if you're all right," Beast Boy said. "You're bleeding."

Her head snapped up at the sound of Cyborg's voice. "You left him by himself?"

Beast Boy held up his hands defensively. "Hey, he also wanted me to come down here."

He held out a hand and helped her to her feet. Raven rubbed that back of her head and winched at the sudden pain. Even though her head felt a little fuzzy she could sense that Beast Boy was lying to her. He had left Cyborg by himself.

It was sort of sweet, but they didn't have time for this. Raven wanted to get this thing rid of just like everyone else. That was their top priority now. She wondered vaguely if Robin and Starfire had caught up with Slade. Well, at least Robin was now accepting help instead of going off after Slade by himself.

"You're bleeding," Beast Boy said again, "it looks pretty bad."

They stared at each other, each not sure what to say. Why was Beast Boy acting like this? So protective of her? Sure, he had done that before, but not to this extreme. While Raven appreciated the gestures she wasn't sure if she wanted Beast Boy to act so protectively.

Perhaps they needed to have a serious talk later on.

"We need to help him," Raven said. "_Azarath Metrion Zenthios!" _

Beside her Beast Boy transformed back into a bird as she launched herself into the air. They had to go help Cyborg.

**-BB- **

He didn't know what to feel.

He had always liked Raven. As a friend. But lately he had been acting more protective of his friends. Beast Boy hadn't thought much about it until Raven pointed it out. Was he doing it on purpose? Maybe. Maybe not.

Ever since the Brotherhood of Evil kidnapped Robin and the other honorary Titans Beast Boy wanted to make sure that something like that wouldn't ever happen again. And he had always tried to protect Raven just…well…_because. _

Now he was beginning to feel confused.

These feelings of uncertainty only added to the confusion he was always feeling over the whole Terra resurrection thing. His heart had always been for Terra…but he had long ago accepted the fact that he had to move on. Now that he had grown up and seen a little more of the world he felt that now was the time for change. Terra's supposed resurrection just destroyed the fact that he had finally gotten over it.

"BB!" Cyborg shouted. "In here!"

He caught sight of Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire pushing the creature backwards. Instead of throwing to throw things at it they were slowly pushing it backwards using nothing but their fists. They couldn't allow it to get near any dangerous material.

Beast Boy transformed back into a human and landed next to Robin. He didn't have to ask to know that Robin and Starfire didn't manage to catch Slade. As if they could. That guy was so slippery. Perhaps someday the Titans would be able to catch him. Just maybe.

"We need to hit its pressure points," Robin snapped, "hit it in the eye."

As though it sensed a sudden attack, the creature began to tense. For a few seconds the Teen Titans and the creatures stared at one another. No more games. No more playing hide-and-seek. They needed to finish this now.

Beast Boy morphed into a Siberian tiger and began to growl. If Slade had gotten away then he was probably watching this right now. Right now, though, Beast Boy wanted to channel all of his rage and confusion into this final battle with the creature. Once all of this was done he could then fix his personal problems. His muscles tensed, getting ready for a fight he didn't know if he could win.

With loud shouts the Titans rushed forward as the creature lunged at them.

**End of Act 2 **

**

* * *

**

**A/N:**

Hmm…not as long as the last act but it will do. I feel like I was being lazy with this chapter...but then again, you guys have waited long enough.

Be a good little bumgorf and review.


	3. Episode 1: Act 3

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything. Just playing with the characters like Barbie dolls.

**A/N: **

Sorry this is pretty late. I know it's inexcusable, but I'm busy, okay? College kills me.

* * *

**Teen Titans Season 6: The Blorthog Project **

**Episode 1: The Mercenary **

**Act 3 **

**-BB- **

Beast Boy could handle this.

He morphed into a gorilla and thumped his fists against his chest. If he could take on Slade single-handedly then he could take on this freak of nature.

Instead of waiting for everyone else to join him Beast Boy charged forward. The creature turned at the sound of his roar and braced itself for impact. He dodged an incoming fist as Robin flung a few explosive disks towards the creature. The floor shook slightly as the creature screamed, clutching at its eye as sparks and smoke sizzled from it.

He transformed into a T-Rex again and attacked the creature. If he had to tell someone what he did during that time, he wouldn't have been able to. The fight became a blur as he released all of his anger and frustration out on the creature.

The Titans helped him out, but he didn't notice them. After a while they just stood to the side and watched him fight. He didn't care. He didn't mind. Now that the creature was in a place where it couldn't attain any more elements to use against them.

Beast Boy morphed back into a human and spat out pieces of metal. Bits of electric wires sparked as the robot twitched in the throes of death. He stood over the machine, breathing heavily as the other Titans surrounded him.

"Well…uh…good job, BB," Cyborg said.

For once there wasn't a smile on his face. Even though Beast Boy liked to be optimistic he didn't feel cheerful. Even though he wasn't a detective he sensed something deeper involved in all of this. The others were still not used to seeing him like this. Serious. Determined. They were too used to his goofy persona.

"Thank God we have this thing taken down," Robin said, bending down to the broken robot. "I want to examine this to see if it is an Amazo."

Robin and Cyborg began to gather up bits and pieces of the robot. Beast Boy heard them talk to each other, but he wasn't paying attention to their conversation.

Sure, the day had been won. There were still so many unanswered questions that bothered him. In a way, Beast Boy would have preferred to see Terra still as stone. At least then he could have tangible evidence that she was the girl he knew. Or the girl he thought he knew. But if that girl at the high school was Terra, then where was Slade's body armor? The thing had been glued to her skin. Even if she was turned back into a human would she still have the armor on?

He tried to push these thoughts from his mind. Hopefully they would begin to find some answers. The most important thing for him to remember was that they had won.

But somehow, this didn't feel like a victory.

**-Rae-**

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

She watched Beast Boy from a distance.

Raven sensed many emotions whirling inside of the changeling. She remembered the time that she first met him she thought he was funny. Then he never stopped cracking jokes. Over the years, though, he had matured.

Now that she had gotten to know Beast Boy better Raven realized that he was using humor to hide a deeper pain inside of him. She first suspected this when the Titans went to South America to help the Doom Patrol. The way he acted around the Doom Patrol was…different. More mature.

"Are you okay?"

Beast Boy nodded.

As she neared him Raven saw that he was holding the heart-shaped box that he made for Terra all of those years ago. Uh-oh…he was still thinking about her, wasn't he?

"Sometimes it's so hard to let it go," Beast Boy said, looking down at the box. "I think I was hallucinating. My mind wanted to see things that it wanted to see."

Raven understood what it felt like to be betrayed by someone she trusted. Although she never talked about it much with anyone, Raven was scarred by Malchoir's vicious betrayal. She thought that she was a good judge of character. Apparently, she wasn't as good as she thought she was.

"So you're letting her go?"

"What other choice do I have?" Beast Boy asked. "Maybe Slade was right…maybe she just doesn't want to remember…"

_But what if she wasn't Terra? _Raven thought. _What does Beast Boy still insist that it's her? _

He was so convinced that Terra was alive again. Raven knew that Robin was intrigued by the case and was probably investigating it now that he knew that Slade was involved. But the fact that Slade was getting involved still annoyed her. Why would Slade have such a sudden change of heart? Like Robin said before, Slade was always trying to manipulate people to achieve his own ends. Even when he asked Robin to accompany him into hell Slade had only been helping the Titans so that he could restore his body.

Raven didn't know what to say to him. As an empath she felt everyone's emotions, but sometimes she just didn't understand how to relate to people. When she was growing up in Azarath she knew that she would one day help her father come into this world. Just how was one supposed to go about telling that to people?

She hugged him.

A soft gasp of surprise came from Beast Boy. At first his arms flailed, as though he didn't know what to do, but then he eventually hugged her back. She knew that he must think that this was weird. For as long as they had known each other Raven had always made fun of him. She still made fun of his real name from time-to-time. But as a mature young woman Raven knew when she should make fun and when she should not.

"Everything will be fine," she said softly, "We'll figure this out."

She supposed that she needed this hug as much as he did.

They broke apart, although Beast Boy kept his hands on Raven's upper arms. A wide smile spread across his face.

"Thanks."

Raven smiled back. Ever since she defeated her father on the day that the world was supposed to end Raven found herself smiling more and more often. While she still kept her pessimistic demeanor Raven found herself feeling more free than she had ever felt before in her life. She was no longer burdened by the constant threat of Trigon.

"Come on," Raven said, "let's go back inside."

**-S- **

Starfire studied the object that she and Robin found in the warehouse.

It was a round metal object pulsating with a curious greenish light. She didn't try to open the object for fear of releasing whatever was inside.

Well, the question was this: what was more important, figuring out what Slade was up to with Terra or discovering the origin of this curious object? Although she knew that Robin would like to connect the discovery of this object with Slade's return, she knew that Slade probably had nothing to do with this. Unless he had ulterior motives that had to do with intergalactic diplomacy then he probably had nothing to do with it. Starfire knew that she had to be the one to make the judgment call.

While she was an alien and professed a great amount of knowledge of the sciences, Starfire did not know everything. For now the object did not seem to be of immediate threat, although she knew that it must have an alien origin.

_I must contact Galfore, _she thought, closing her eyes, _perhaps he may be able to determine what this object is and whether it is dangerous to me or not. _

She heard the other Titans begin to speak about the day's events outside of her door. Sighing, Starfire put away the object in a safe contained that would block out most of the radiation. This was not an immediate threat to Earth. There would be time later to deal with this. Right now they had to deal with the matters at hand. Figure out what was happening with Terra. Apprehend Slade.

Starfire was not one who liked to lie about things. She knew that lying would only complicate matters, so she knew that she would eventually have to tell the others about this. But right now, they had other problems to deal with. Once she talked with Galfore and dealt with things on Tamaran then she would be more at ease speaking of this to the others. As she walked back out to the common room she couldn't help but keep thinking about it.

It had the symbol of the Citadel.

**-R- **

Robin waited outside of the high school, leaning nonchalantly against the R-cycle as he waited for the students to come out of class. People passing by gave him strange looks as they recognized him, but Robin didn't care.

His eyes searched the oncoming crowd of students. He stiffened as he saw the girl that Beast Boy must have seen. She was talking to her friends. He was immediately struck by the resemblance and could instantly understand why Beast Boy acted the way he did.

_She looks just Terra, _Robin thought.

A small crowd gathered around him as people noticed that he was standing there. As the former protégée of the Dark Knight people always seemed to find him fascinating. Some of the kids were taking pictures of him on their cell phones as they whispered in voices that were steadily growing louder in excitement.

"Oh my god…is that _Robin?" _

"…used to work with Batman, right?"

"Well duh."

He felt his ears and cheeks turn red as a gaggle of girls began to giggle. Robin wondered whether they just liked him because of the mask. If he stood here as Dick Grayson would they continue to act that way? Maybe. Maybe not. He remembered the time that Killer Moth's daughter Kitten blackmailed him into taking her to the prom. Now that he thought back on it that really was nothing compared to the blackmail Slade put him through. It was so silly…

_Still thinking about that, huh Rob? _He thought to himself.

He fidgeted as the girls began to press in on him, his thoughts elsewhere. That morning he deeply regretted telling Starfire that Slade knew his secret identity. He supposed that he should have told the team sooner, especially during that incident with the dust. It certainly would have explained a lot, such as why he was so determined to catch Slade. Why he was so scared of Slade.

Well, it had been three years. Robin had grown into a young man, and he did that without Slade's help. Every now and then, though, he thought back to those few terrifying weeks as Slade's apprentice. It was hard not to. After all, he had been forced to steal from Bruce. In a way he still hadn't gotten over it.

What had he been thinking when he decided to tell Star that Slade knew his secret identity? She was bound to tell the others. Then they would come and confront him about it. Bruce would eventually find out and lecture him. Robin didn't like those kinds of confrontations.

He scanned the crowd, trying his best to ignore the giggling fangirls as he looked for the girl that Beast Boy saw. The longer he stood there, though, the more girls gathered around him.

"Excuse me, miss," Robin said, stepping in front of the girl. "I'm Robin. I'd like to talk to you."

The girl looked up at him with wide blue eyes. Criminy, she looked just like Terra. If Robin didn't harbor suspicions before he would have also thought that she was Terra.

"You're one of those Teen Titans, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "I don't want to talk after what your friend did to me."

She turned around to walk away. He didn't want that. Robin did his best to ignore the girls pressing in around him.

"I'm here to apologize."

She turned at this. Robin knew that Beast Boy acted out of hope and desperation, so Robin was going to act a little more reserved. The girl lifted up a hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Although Robin wasn't sure if this was the right girl he couldn't help but have memories of Terra wash over him.

_Terra and Robin fought. _

_He knew that he was the last Titans Slade asked her to track down. Of course he would be the last one, but Robin was surprised that Slade didn't come himself. Why was it that Slade always sent other people to do his dirty work? _

_As they fought Robin recognized some of the moves Slade tried to teach him. The only difference was that Terra used them with deadly intent. Back in Slade's haunt Robin used the villain's obsession to defeat him. What if Terra wasn't here to kill him? What if Slade wanted him for something again? _

_No, that was egoistic of him to think that. But Robin was sure that Slade wouldn't let him die. Every single one of the Titans had been at Slade's mercy, but Slade had allowed Robin to live. But perhaps Slade was still pissed that Robin escaped, so perhaps he was going to allow Terra to destroy him. _

_"I was Slade's apprentice once," Robin said, "I got out of it. So can you." _

_"I—don't—need—saving!" _

_"I'm just never gonna be good enough for you, am I?" _

Robin shook his head and tried to get the memories out of his head. This wasn't the same girl. He had watched Terra die. Then again, he watched Slade die along with her. That worked out so well, didn't it?

"What's your name?"

"Tara."

Tara. Terra. It could be easy to get those names mixed up. Robin looked up at the school. It looked like a private school, judging from the building and the uniforms that the students wore. He used to go to a private school himself, back when he lived in Gotham. There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask Terra.

"Look," Tara said, "I know that your friend thinks I'm this Terra. I'm not, ok?"

"I didn't say that you were," Robin said. "I just wanted to come and make sure."

Honestly, Robin didn't know what to think. His feelings told him that this was the girl named Terra, but the detective in him said that he needed to investigate this further. If only he had been able to meet the Sladebot…perhaps if Beast Boy hadn't destroyed it he might have gotten an answer out of Slade.

Well, like anyone could.

"What else do you want to know?"

"Nothing else."

Robin rubbed his chin and thought hard about the events of the past two days. If she was a schoolgirl, then why was she there when the Titans first encountered the mysterious monster? Shouldn't she have been in school?

"Thank you for talking to me," Robin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate it."

A car horn blared. Tara's head jerked suddenly at the sound. While she was distracted Robin deftly lifted a stray strand of hair lying on her shoulder and held it between his gloved fingers.

"Tara!"

This time Robin whipped his head around. A white-haired man stuck his head out of the car window. Inexplicably, a shiver ran down Robin's spine as he locked eyes with the man. There was something about the voice that made him tense.

"Oh, my ride's here," Tara said. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

The young woman sprinted away to the car and yanked the door open. She was too far away now to hear the conversation she was having with the driver of the car. Perhaps Robin was being too paranoid like always. If this man was her father…her true father…then this girl wasn't Terra.

But Robin wanted to be sure.

Robin slid the strand of hair into a test tube he put in his utility belt. If this was Terra then he had to be sure. She might have amnesia, but still be the same person. He wanted to do a DNA check just to be sure. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched. Knowing Slade, the man was probably watching him now. Robin wouldn't expect anything less from the criminal mastermind.

"Until we meet again, Slade," Robin said under his breath. "You're off the hook."

He revved up the engine and sped off onto the street, his black-and-gold cape fluttering behind him. Robin swerved in-and-out of traffic, a red blur to anyone who was watching him. He tried not to think about his other problems as he drove. The most important thing to do now was to capture Slade. Figure out what was going on with this girl who looked like Terra. In light of all that was going on now Robin's problems didn't look that bad.

Batman could wait. Robin couldn't be sure what Bruce wanted to talk to him about, but he didn't want to face the fact that he might have to retire the cape. As he sped along he tried to think of other things. Like Slade.

He had a feeling that, somewhere, the villain was chuckling to himself.

* * *

**End of Act 3 **

**A/N: **

Kind of short, but I am working on many things at once. I feel as though there isn't a lot to say at the moment. This is mostly build-up. The "episodes" will be longer.

Until next time, ladies and gentlemen.

Love,

-H


	4. Episode 2: Act 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans.

**A/N: **

The last time I updated this was in February…OMG. I'm sorry.

Sorry for the general lack of fanfiction. I've been having long, frustrating phone conversations with computer tech and I also decided to buy an impromptu train ticket out-of-town last week to see friends. After I finished NS I also feel creatively drained. Anyway, this has proven somewhat difficult to write because of the story format. I'm not used to writing 13 separate stories. Short stories have always been my weakness. Herpy-derp. I decided that to keep my sanity this will be written and posted in chunks rather than a weekly update. So whenever you get an update all 3 chapters will be posted at once. I just decided to post this chapter ahead of time because I haven't posted anything in a while.

Also, HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS I MADE IT TO TV TROPES? WHAT? I was just scrolling down the TT fanfic rec page when I came across my fics. "Dust" and "Northern Star" both made it. To those Tropers who recommended me: I thank you so very much.

* * *

**The Blorgthog Project **

**Season 6: Episode 2 Act 1 **

**"Search and Rescue."**

* * *

**-Rae- **

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

Raven wiped away the blood dripping down her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Close," she said, "but not close enough."

Her eyes darkened as she lifted several wooden boxes with her powers to fling at the Sladebots. The robots darted out of the way as the boxes flew towards them. One of them managed to hit her nicely across the face. She didn't have the time or energy to heal herself as she backed away, bringing up a dark shield to protect her from incoming lasers.

Just a few minutes ago the Titans got a distress call from the city. Slade was definitely on the move again ever since the Titans came back to Jump City. She wondered if Slade was going to continue doing this to them: use his bots to randomly attack Jump City until the Titans were worn down. Well, if that was his plan, then it would have worked when the Titans only had five members.

Even though Raven and the others gave Robin some crap for obsessing over Slade, Raven knew that it was a legitimate concern. There were too many unanswered questions surrounding Slade's reappearance. Why didn't Slade just attack Jump City while the real Titans were away fighting the Brotherhood of Evil? Robin was right: Slade was probably the only Titan villain not to have joined the Brotherhood of Evil. So what kind of devious plot had he been planning while the original Titans were away?

_But Robin said that Slade's butler was there, _Raven thought. _Does that mean anything? _

Robin stood in front of them, his bo-staff out and ready. His face was set in grim determination; it was that same expression he used whenever Slade was involved in anything. He didn't look as beat up as he did the other day they fought Slade, but he was getting close.

"Hit them in the back of the neck," Robin said through gritted teeth.

"How do you know that?" Beast Boy asked.

"Just do it."

For a split second Raven thought that Robin would jump right into the fray without the others, just as he had done so long along at Pier 41. But Robin had grown up. He made sure that his friends were there to back him up.

Apparently, the Sladebots had gotten what they came for. They glared at the Titans before sprinting out of the door, one of them holding a small box. Where were they going? They couldn't let Slade get away with this. They just couldn't.

"Titans, go!" Robin roared.

They charged forward and followed the Sladebots out onto the busy street.

A part of Raven wondered what went in the warehouse when Robin and Starfire chased Slade there. Even though all of the Titans had changed over the past few years she understood that Slade was one of the few things Robin still obsessed about.

When Slade came back from the dead Raven finally understood why Robin felt the need to bring him down. The man was terrifying. He had nearly killed all of her friends in his attempt to bring her a message from her father. He didn't have to resort to all of that violence to do it, but he did anyway.

_But I beat him, _Raven thought, _we've beaten him before and we can beat him now. _

Yes, she had beaten him. In fact, she was the only Titan to have beaten Slade alone. It was frightening, really, what she could do once her powers were set loose. Sometimes Raven wondered if Robin resented her a bit for being the only Titan able to defeat Slade.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched Robin leap into the air. He smashed his bo-staff ruthlessly against the neck of a Sladebot. It crumpled underneath him in a cloud of sparks. Instead of pounding angrily away at the body he leapt over to fight the next one.

_It seems as though Slade hasn't gotten rid of that weak spot, _she heard Robin thought. _But what if he expects me to know that weakness? _

As soon as he finished destroying it he looked up at Raven. Their eyes met briefly, and she got a hunch that Robin understood that she had overheard his thoughts. He averted his eyes, as though embarrassed that she saw him do that, and sprinted off to go help Starfire.

"Hey," Beast Boy said as he bumped into Raven's back. "Make sure he doesn't go crazy again, ok?"

"He didn't go crazy," she replied, "that was the reagent in Slade's mask. It wasn't his fault. Besides, he has a right to worry."

Beast Boy was, of course, referring to the time when a hallucinogen in Slade's mask nearly caused Robin to lose his mind. That night she made a mental connection with him, one that had stuck with the two of them since Trigon came to take over the world.

"Well…I have a bone to pick with Slade too," Beast Boy said. "Let's just get this over with."

Raven suddenly became aware of just how close Beast Boy was to her. Was it just her, or was he acting a little more…protective than normal? She shook that thought away from her mind. Of course he would try to protect her. They were friends. That's what friends did for each other.

**-R- **

Jump City, California

Downtown

A million thoughts whirled in his head as they fought. Why were so many things happening at once? First there was the mysterious appearance of that girl who looked so much like Terra, and then Slade came back.

_What's more important to me? _He asked himself. _I learned a long time ago not to obsess over him. But old habits do die hard. _

Regardless, he still had to figure out who that girl was for Beast Boy's sake. Even though Robin knew that he had gotten over Terra's death before her reappearance had shaken him. It had shaken all of them. Right now in Titans Tower the computers were analyzing that bit of Tara's hair. Hopefully they would have an answer as soon as they sorted this mess out. However, Robin felt himself dreading the answer.

What if there was a DNA match? What then? Having the answer to that question might not quell everyone's worries. Robin honestly didn't know what to do or what to say to Beast Boy if he proved that Terra had come back to life. And that man who picked up Tara from the school yesterday…Robin just couldn't shake off the feeling that he somehow knew the guy. He had never seen Slade's real face (unless you counted seeing the skull down in hell), but what if, for some odd reason, the Sladebot's words were true? Well, Robin would have to ask Beast Boy to recount the robot's words about Terra to him.

_Slade's always getting in the way, though, _he thought. _Is figuring out the reason behind Terra's supposed reappearance more important to me? Or is Slade more important? Or are the two things connected? _

Robin leapt onto the back of a Sladebot and launched himself from it as Starfire destroyed it with her starbolts. He twisted in the air and kicked another Sladebot in the chest. He couldn't stop himself from coming up with theory after theory as he continued to fight alongside his friends. That's what Batman taught him to do.

Suddenly, inexplicably, the Sladebots began to retreat. Robin skidded to a halt, confused. What was going on? Did Slade sense an inevitable retreat? Or was he trying to make the Titans follow the Sladebots back to him?

"HALT!"

The Titans froze as a large shadow fell upon them. As Robin glanced up he saw a space ship descending over them. Robin didn't know what to do. Was this another alien invasion? He didn't know. Slowly, Robin took out a couple of explosive discs from his utility belt. He didn't like this at all.

Whoever was on the ship began to speak in broken English. "Do not attack ship. Hold fire."

Out of the corner of his eyes Robin saw the civilians beginning to run away. What was going on? Was the ship looking for them? Even though his instinctive alertness he felt as though something was familiar about this ship. Perhaps it was the strange accent of the alien who spoke…

"Stop!"

Starfire flew in front of them with her arms outstretched. "It is a Tamaranean ship."

A Tamaranean ship? What was a Tamaranean ship doing here? Robin forced himself to relax. He couldn't help but remember the one time he had been to Tamaran. It had all been a trick to give more power to Blackfire.

The door of the ship slid open. A squad of Tamaraneans dressed in their distinctive purple uniforms stepped down the gangplank towards them. Robin scanned each of their faces. He didn't recognize any of them from his brief stay on Tamaran.

"A Tamaranean party?"

Robin glanced at the Sladebots running away. Well, it wasn't as if they hadn't been winning that battle anyway. He jabbed a thumb towards them and nodded to Cyborg.

"Cyborg, take Beast Boy and call in backup from the other Titans," Robin said. "Go after the Sladebots. If you manage to find Slade, then call me."

"Wait a minute," Cyborg said, putting his hands up in disbelief, "_you _aren't going to go after the Sladebots yourself?"

If Robin was irritated before, he was irritated now. Did the others always assume that he would get crazily obsessive whenever Slade's name was mentioned? He had grown up a bit. As much as Robin hated leaving the battle unfinished he knew that he had to trust his teammates more. Robin hated to admit it, but Slade was right: Robin couldn't defeat him on his own. However, that still didn't mean that he _wouldn't _be able to defeat him in the future.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I am."

Cyborg caught Robin's irritated tone. Without asking any more questions Cyborg motioned for Beast Boy to follow him.

"Should I go with them?" Raven asked. "Surely Starfire doesn't need—"

"You can if you want," Robin replied. "But we still don't know what this is about."

He felt extremely uneasy about this. If a convoy was coming to Earth why didn't Starfire tell them? She wasn't one to keep a lot of secrets. The answer, of course, was that Starfire didn't know they were coming. So the question was: why didn't Galfore tell them that a convoy was coming? And how did Starfire know that these soldiers were from Galfore? Since she was royalty it could just as easily be an assassination attempt. That's one of the reasons why Robin didn't want to leave Starfire's side.

The soldiers bowed before Starfire. Robin crossed his arms over his chest and watched them closely, even if he didn't understand their language he could watch their body language. They began to speak in rough Tamaranean. Robin figured that he should probably learn how to speak Tamaran, but then again it seemed difficult to learn.

They spoke loudly and somewhat obnoxiously, as was their culture. Robin had been surprised how obnoxious Tamaraneans were. He could have never guessed from Starfire's sweet manner that that was how Tamaraneans acted. Well, maybe he _could _have guessed from the way she fought everyone the night she crash-landed on Earth.

"Shouldn't we move somewhere more…private?" Raven asked in a low voice. "They're blocking the road. We should go back to the Tower."

Despite himself, Robin fidgeted. He just _had _to say it out loud. "We need to go after Slade."

"Slade can wait. The others can handle it until we come help." Raven studied him closely. "Don't let him goad you again."

"I don't intend to let him."

Well, that was easier said than done. He turned his attention away from Raven and looked towards Starfire again. Having to worry about Slade was bad enough, and now Tamaran was getting involved here? Robin coughed loudly to get Starfire's attention.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "We should get out of the street before the cops ask us to move. We're blocking traffic."

The other Tamaraneans glared at him, as though appalled that he would dare to interrupt a princess of Tamaran. He was met with that same kind of treatment when he went to Tamaran for the wedding. Although he knew that he should respect their customs it was just so hard to remember that Starfire was royalty.

"You will not speak that way to the Princess—" the Captain began.

"It is all right," Starfire cut-in, switching to English for Robin and Raven's benefit. "They are my friends."

They still didn't look convinced that they should leave him be. However, Robin knew that Starfire understood that he wished to move the Tamaranean ship out of the street. People were gawking at them. Raven was right. Robin didn't like being out in the open like this.

"It is a convey sent by Galfore," Starfire replied, "they come bringing a message that only I may hear."

"They came all this way to bring a message?" Raven asked. "Why couldn't they just send a transmission?"

All of the Titans glanced at each other. One of the Tamaranean soldiers spoke and Starfire translated.

"It is of the upmost secrecy. They wish me to know first. It is Galfore's orders."

"Fine," Robin said. "Can you ask them to move the ship? We'll go back to Titans Tower so that you can hear the message."

Robin didn't like this. What if the soldiers were here to take her back to Tamaran? Of course he understood that, as a princess Starfire had duties to her people even if she passed the crown to Galfore. While he was in his civilian identity he was also obliged to do certain things.

_Or am I just jealous? _

Cyborg's words from Starfire's botched wedding floated to Robin's mind as he hopped on the R-Cycle and began to drive back to Titans Tower. Sure, Cyborg had just been teasing Robin. He always did. But Robin seriously cared for her. He didn't want to lose anyone else, just as he lost his own parents so many years ago.

Even with the help of the other Titans Robin felt as though he couldn't afford to have his team one member short. Starfire was the one who had brought the team together in the first place. If not for her, Robin would probably still be working alone in Jump City. Would he have ever met the others? Would he ever have trusted anyone after his falling out with Batman?

_…Would I have ever worked for Slade? _Robin thought. _And if I did, no one would have been there to help me. _

His thoughts were running wild now, and he didn't want that. Not now. He had to concentrate on the situation at hand. Robin had to concentrate on the now and not on past mistakes. He concentrated on the road as he weaved in-and-out of traffic.

_I'm getting myself too worked up over this, _he thought.

Still, he knew that he would have to make a decision soon. He would have to confront his past and talk to Bruce. If he kept avoiding anything then it would make him a coward. Robin didn't want that. Well, whatever. He was just going to deal with whatever Slade or Batman or Tamaran threw at him. He had no other choice but to do that.

**-C- **

Jump City, California

Downtown

Cyborg and Beast Boy sprinted after the Sladebots. Both of them began to call for backup. Soon enough, the nearest honorary Titans met up with them. Kid Flash and Jinx were the first to respond to the distress call.

"You called?" Kid Flash asked. "Who are we slapping around this time?"

Ah, Kid Flash. Cyborg gave Kid Flash a high five as he grinned jovially. Kid Flash responded with just as much enthusiasm. Man, KF needed to get out of Central City more often. He was a fun guy to hang around with.

"Sladebots," Cyborg replied. "Slade's not here this time around, but still…"

"I get ya," Kid Flash replied. "I'm always around to help. Hope you don't mind that I brought a friend."

Cyborg looked at Jinx and merely nodded. Although he knew that Jinx was on their side now Cyborg couldn't help but be a bit uncomfortable around her. After all, he had infiltrated the HIVE Academy successfully and managed to trick the HIVE Five. Cyborg wasn't sure if Jinx had forgiven him for that.

"We could always use more help," Cyborg said.

Jinx looked at Cyborg for a moment before nodding. "Sladebots, huh? I thought Terra killed Slade."

"Well, _that's _a long story," Cyborg replied. "Regardless, he's back and very much alive."

Cyborg looked up as Beast Boy called out to someone. As Cyborg turned he caught sight of a blond-haired, green-eyed boy running towards them. When Jericho caught up to them he gave Beast Boy a quick hug.

He greeted Jericho like an old friend. Well, Beast Boy was the one who managed to bring down the Brotherhood of Evil. Jericho had been one of the few heroes who managed to escape the Brotherhood. He was one of those dark horse heroes whom no one really paid attention to. Cyborg didn't even know who Jericho was until Robin began to assign communicators to all the young heroes. And even now Cyborg still didn't know too much about the kid. He seemed pretty trustworthy, though.

"Hey Jericho!" Cyborg called out. "Good to see you, man!"

Jericho's smile widened and he waved. Cyborg shook his hand. Oh yeah, Jericho couldn't talk, huh? Although none of the other Titans knew why Jericho was mute they patiently waited for him to write things out.

However, they didn't have time to talk to him. Their top priority was to get the Sladebots destroyed. Cyborg knew it would be foolish to get his hopes up about catching Slade today. Although the Titans had beaten Slade before they had never actually gotten him in prison like the other villains. Slade would always be different from the others.

"Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted. "I'm tracking one of the Sladebots!"

To Cyborg's surprise Jericho skidded to a halt as soon as he caught sight of the Sladebots. Cyborg felt as though he was the only one who noticed Jericho's hesitation to attack them. Was that fear on Jericho's face, or astonishment?

The moment passed, and Jericho shook himself out of his trance. He grimaced and ran to catch up with them. Jericho seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Cyborg—or anyone else for that matter—noticed his odd behavior.

_What the heck was that all about? _Cyborg thought.

However, Cyborg found that he didn't have time to think about Jericho's strange behavior. He had more important things to worry about. Besides, if it was really important then Cyborg would be sure to ask Jericho about it later.

"We're going to try to stop it!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "We'll go ahead."

Kid Flash whizzed on ahead with Jinx in his arms. He heard Jinx's yell of surprise as she was carried away. Cyborg had no idea what they planned to do, but he supposed that he would have to trust KF. He wasn't sure if he trusted Jinx, but she had helped them out during that last fight against the Brotherhood of Evil.

_You know, _Cyborg thought, _when have our plans ever worked? _

**-S- **

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

Starfire did her best to hide her agitation as she led the soldiers to Titans Tower.

Several thousand thoughts run through her mind. She wondered whether or not the Captain was here to ask her to leave Earth. She certainly hoped that that would not be the case. Starfire tried to hold herself up with as much royal dignity as possible. However, she hadn't been to Tamaran in so long that she almost forgot how stingy the captain could be.

She didn't fail to notice Robin's anxiety as she led them to the Tower. After all, she felt anxious herself. No one had told her that a royal convoy was coming to Earth. She understood that it was probably because of security reasons, but surely Galfore would have…Starfire shook her head.

Starfire could trust them. Since no one had told her that a convoy was coming she did feel hesitant about trusting them. But the Captain held an official seal with Galfore's personal emblem on it. Yes, these soldiers were definitely of the royal guard.

_Still, _she thought, _it is strange that Galfore did not contact me first. _

A few minutes later everyone settled into the common room of Titans Tower. Robin and Raven stood near the back of the room, talking to each other in low voices as Starfire talked with the Captain. Although Starfire did not mind having them involved in the conversation she knew that the Tamaranean soldiers would be over-protective. Raven would be fine, but Robin…Robin was always a little high-strung.

"Princess Koriand'r," the captain said in Tamaranean, "we are sorry that we disturbed you, but Galfore wished this to remain in the upmost secrecy. What with the Gordanians flying all over the Vega Star System, who knows what transmissions are being intercepted."

So, her plan for contacting Galfore later today would be moot anyway. Perhaps Starfire had been away from Tamaran for too long. She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask the soldiers. As always, she knew that Tamaran was constantly on the brink of war. Was the situation getting worse? Was that the reason why Galfore wanted to talk to her? Well, she wouldn't know unless she heard the message.

"I understand," she replied. "Give me the message."

The Tamaranean captain nodded. He took out a small, purple disc and gave it to her. She stood in front of the transmission. Starfire pushed a button on the disk. A small hologram of Galfore appeared before her.

"Princess Koriand'r," he said, "I know that you are not the Empress. I understand that you gave the Crown to me, for you felt that my years of experience would better benefit the people of Tamaran than your youth. I understand that you have a life on earth and that, for the time being, you do not wish to immerse yourself in Tamaranean politics. However, I have no other choice but to ask you for help."

In a slow, articulate manner Galfore began to explain the situation. As the words tumbled over her she felt as though she couldn't completely absorb them. She couldn't even begin to believe what she was hearing.

"Starfire?" Robin stepped forward. "Are you ok?"

An expression of horror crossed her face. The soldiers looked on her grimly, but they moved to block Robin from approaching Starfire. At first she thought that he would fight his way through, but he yielded to their authority.

"Princess," he said slowly, trying to address her with proper respect so that the soldiers wouldn't harm him, "what's going on?"

She barely heard Robin's questions as she listened, completely absorbed in what Galfore was saying. This…this explained everything. Well, not quite everything, but she had a feeling that this was going to turn nasty.

_Does this have anything to do with that Citadelian object I found the other day? _She thought. _It's beginning to make sense, but X'hal…there is still vital information left to be discovered about this. _

Unfortunately, she believed that it would be extremely important. Yes, this would help explain why she found it in Jump City. And if she and the Titans didn't tread carefully for the next few days someone would be bound to get hurt.

Starfire turned towards the other Titans, a grave expression on her face. Undoubtedly, the Titans were going to get involved in Tamaranea politics. She knew that, no matter how many times she would ask them not to help her, they would do it anyway. In those few moments she became terrified. She didn't want her friends to be involved in any of this. What Galfore was asking of her was near suicide. This wouldn't be like the time she thought she would marry to save her people. No, this was much different. Starfire also knew that, if she were in Galfore's place, she would ask the same thing. What else would he be able to do in this situation?

_But no, he's not asking this of me, _she thought, _he's asking this of my friends on my behalf. _

Was the situation getting this desperate? Robin and Raven waited for her to say something. It took her a few moments to compose herself before beginning to explain. "Blackfire is being held captive by the Citadel."

* * *

**A/N: **Mwahaha, cliffhanger! I bet you guys missed those!

A little short, but I realized that it shouldn't be much longer anyway.

Also, if you guys are willing to wait, I feel as though I want this to follow the continuity of my other story "Dust." I can rewrite the first story here to fit the continuity.

Tell me what you think!


	5. Episode 2: Act 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans.

**A/N: **I feel so guilty not updating this on a regular basis, because I know we all hate dead fics. Short stories are the bane of my existence. I'm going to try to get more of this done. Sorry.

* * *

**The Blorthog Project **

**Episode 2, Act 2 **

"**Search and Rescue" **

**-S- **

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

"Blackfire escaped from prison?" Robin asked.

"Yes," Starfire replied, "and she seeks asylum on Earth."

"Again?" Raven interjected. "The last time she did that—"

"We all know how that turned out," Robin said. "Why can't she go somewhere else?"

Starfire noticed the tones of resentment in the other Titans' voices, especially Robin's. After all, it had been Blackfire who had tricked them all into coming to Tamaran. Blackfire had been willing to sell Starfire for the Crown. For power.

_To think that even after everything we've gone through before…_

The Titans only knew the scheming Blackfire, but Starfire grew up with her. Even if she schemed against Starfire now it wasn't as if Starfire could stop loving her. It wasn't as if Starfire could forget growing up with her. They had been friends at some point in their lives. She was family.

"But she's a criminal—" Robin began.

"She is still royalty. She is still my sister." Starfire looked at the remaining Titans. "If the Citadel kills her then it is enough to provoke that entire sector of the galaxy into war."

Surprise crossed Robin's face. Yes, although she did not wish to think of a future war with the Citadel or the Gordanians Starfire knew that she had to accept the fact that it was possible. Robin recomposed himself and looked to the side.

"So the situation hasn't improved since we left."

"No, it has not."

Starfire glanced at the Tamaranean soldiers. Would they ask her to return to Tamaran? She would not be surprised if they did. If so, then she would go out of duty for her people. No one could tell her otherwise.

"So what exactly is Galfore asking of you?" Robin asked. "He felt that it was important enough to send people here. Why?"

"He is requesting that we aid my sister before the ship holding my sister reaches the Citadel."

"Why can't he send Tamaranean soldiers to do it?"

"Because sending a Tamaranean ship into Gordanian territory would mean instant war," Raven said. "The T-Ship is small enough to slip by Gordanian forces. We go in, get Blackfire out, and then come back to Earth. He's asking us to help Tamaran evade war." Raven turned to Starfire. "Am I right?"

"Yes. That is correct," Starfire replied. "My neutral position on Earth has nullified the Citadel from attacking Tamaran."

What would happen if the Titans agreed to do this and were caught with Starfire among them? Then the Citadel would have both heirs to the throne as hostages. Or, as was also possible, the Citadel would probably kill them and instigate a win they were likely to win.

"What Galfore is asking us to do is dangerous," Robin said. "How close are you to war with the Gordanians?"

"Very close," Starfire said, "the situation has been uneasy since the Gordanians captured me as a prize."

Well, that was a bit of an understatement. While Starfire wasn't normally one to use euphemisms she knew that she couldn't see the brighter side of things with this situation.

"You know that she's double-crossed us before. It could be a trap."

"I know."

Starfire couldn't help but feel a little guilty about bringing this to the team. The Titans had other things to worry about, like catching Slade for instance. She didn't want them to worry about Tamaranean politics.

"And Blackfire…" Raven cut-in, "how do you know that she's not double-crossing us again?"

"We do not know."

Starfire was torn between wanting to help prevent a war and her initial reluctance to help her sister. But she was also determined to demonstrate that she was not like her sister. Blackfire would not do anything to help her if Starfire was the one captured by the Gordanians or the Citadel.

"I don't like this," Robin said automatically. "I don't think it's a good idea to go."

"It's not a matter of whether or not we like Blackfire," Raven said. "It seems as though the situations demands more of us."

"Why don't we continue this conversation when the other Titans come back?" Robin asked. "Starfire, tell the Captain that we need some time to think about this."

She told the soldiers, who nodded slowly. Perhaps Galfore would prefer an answer sooner, but this was something that the team had to agree upon as a whole.

**-JW- **

Jump City, California

A Warehouse

Jericho didn't know the Titans were working to bring down Sladebots. Or Slade for that matter. If he had known that he might not have answered their distress call. But that would have made him a coward for thinking like that.

Oh, he had heard the rumors, but he either refused to believe them or simply ignored them. When he received a message from Robin telling him that he was going to receive a communicator Jericho felt confused. Why did Robin consider him an ally?

_Out of all of the Titans, _Jericho thought, _Robin would have figured it out. He has to have figured it out by now. But still…how can he or anyone else trust me? _

As Jericho ran he couldn't help but feel so exposed. He hadn't seen Slade in years, but still…by now Slade must know that he was working with the Titans now. He would definitely disapprove of that. Jericho wasn't sure what to say or do if they happened to catch Slade today.

Although Jericho hadn't involved himself in any superhuman activity he knew well enough what had gone on between Slade and the Titans. Again and again Slade tried to bring them down and had nearly succeeded many times.

_What if Robin already knows the connection? _Jericho asked himself. _If so, then what caused him to trust me? _

Jericho knew that he was too much of a coward to ask Robin to his face. He was intimated by the fact that Robin was…well, _Robin. _The kid used to work with Batman, after all. And even after all he had achieved with Batman he then went on to lead the Titans. Jericho knew that Robin had his faults and weaknesses, but Jericho wanted to prove himself so much to the others. Even though they didn't yet know who his father was Jericho felt as though he should prove himself before telling them the truth.

"You can't possess robots, can you?" Beast Boy asked.

Jericho shook his head. No, he could only possess living things. He hoped that he would be able to help the Titans even if he couldn't possess someone. Although his mother had trained him in hand-to-hand-combat he knew that he wasn't up to Robin's standards.

"Oh, well, I guess it's not like possessing Cinderblock then, is it?" Beast Boy asked. "Well, that's ok. Just hit them on the back of the neck. That's their weak point."

Jericho nodded, but his mind was somewhere else as he attacked the Sladebots.

_"What's Slade been up to these days?" _Jericho asked Beast Boy.

"Uh…"

Jericho put a hand over his right eye to show that he was talking about Slade. Beast Boy understood at once.

"Oh," Beast Boy said, "well…we haven't seen him since he helped us defeat Trigon, but still…he's back. And Terra…you know who Terra is, right?"

Jericho got the sense that he would have to talk carefully about Terra. He nodded slowly.

"Well…she's back. And we don't know why."

Jericho shot Beast Boy a quizzical look. Like everyone else, Jericho knew the story behind Terra. He knew that she used to work with the Titans. He knew that she betrayed them by working for Slade and eventually died bringing him down. He hadn't been quite sure how to feel when he heard the news that his father had died by falling into a pit of lava. One part of Jericho felt terrible while another part of him knew that he shouldn't feel that way.

But the fact of the matter was that Slade was his _father. _

_Slade's back…Terra's back…_he thought. _What is he up to? And what will happen when he realizes that I'm in town…? _

"There they are!" Cyborg exclaimed. "I've got a lock on them!"

The Titans tensed as they faced the Sladebots. Jinx made the first move. She threw out her arms and a wave of pink light undulated across the room. The floor cracked underneath them. As the Sladebots stumbled Kid Flash zipped across the room.

"Oops, sorry," he said as he knocked the Sladebot holding the chip to its knees. "Didn't mean to do that, chum."

The Titans scattered into formation, forming a veritable blitzkrieg as they moved to take them down. Each of the Titans except Jericho teamed up, using their knowledge of one another's moves and their own skills to tackle the Sladebots. Even if Jericho had wanted to team up with someone hardly any of the other Titans knew how to communicate efficiently with him.

Jericho jumped in front of a Sladebot and held up his fists. The Sladebot merely looked at him before moving on to fight the next Titan. Jericho looked after the Sladebot curiously. So, Slade must be watching through the security cameras or something.

_What are you up to…Dad? _

**-R- **

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

As Starfire continued to talk with the Tamaraneans to get more details about this rescue mission Robin decided to check up on something really quick. If Starfire needed anything she would call for him. He walked quickly down the hallway towards his room.

He turned on the lights and looked around his room. Although he wasn't as obsessive as he had been in his early days, he still plastered newspapers to his walls. Now he had new pictures up: pictures of the girl who looked like Terra.

_Sometimes I feel as though I'm the only one who can figure this out, _Robin thought. _But I know that's not true. Beast Boy is right: we have to work together on this. _

He looked at the DNA sample and frowned. Thinking that he was mistaken, he double-checked his data.

_They match…_he thought. _But…how? I watched her die. Well, I watched Slade die too, and look what good that did. _

This disturbed him. Some part of him wanted to believe that their old friend Terra was back, just as he wanted his parents to be alive again. Then again, he knew that it was unwise to tamper with the dead. If someone had managed to clone her or bring her back to life, then why would they do os?

He felt as though everything was beginning to fall down around him. Robin couldn't be in charge of every single situation out there. He couldn't track down Slade while investigating the mystery of Terra and help Starfire. It was too much for one person to handle. He was going to have to call in the other Titans and put them in teams.

_I have to trust them. _

Sometimes, even that was too hard.

_If Terra is truly back, then how did she return? What if she's a clone? _

Well, thinking about this logically, Slade came back because of Trigon. Was it possible that something similar happened to Terra? Robin thought back to everything he had ever talked about with Slade during Trigon's return. Being the villain that he was, Slade had told them all about the prophecy and what would happen once he delivered his "message" to Raven. Perhaps he should talk to Raven about this first. Even before he talked to Beast Boy…

"Cyborg," he said, flipping open his communicator, "how are you doing?"

"We got it!" Cyborg exclaimed. "I don't think we need backup. I'll call you if we need help."

Hmm. Robin snapped his communicator shut and heard his name being called. He thought one last time about everything happening and narrowed his eyes. Huh.

This would get interesting.

**-BB- **

Jump City, California

The Docking Bay of Titans Tower

"So let me get this straight," Beast Boy said, "we're going to rescue Blackfire, Starfire's sister and arch-nemesis, from the Gordanians."

"Yup," Cyborg said.

"And then she's coming to Earth?"

"Yup."

"This is so messed up."

"Yup."

"Great."

Like everyone else, Beast Boy didn't want to go after Blackfire. What if this was all a trick? It wouldn't surprise him if it was. However, they eventually decided to at least go and investigate the situation. They could always call for backup if they did get into a messy situation, which Beast Boy knew that they undoubtedly would be.

"All right," Beast Boy said under his breath, "let's do this."

His hands tightened on the controls. Yesterday he and Jericho and the other honorary Titans took down the Sladebots. It had been easy. Way too easy. So easy that it should have been illegal. Robin had put them in charge of taking care of Jump City. Even though there were so many issues going on the original five couldn't handle them all at once. To Beast Boy's disappointment Terra's return wasn't a big issue to Robin. It wasn't an immediate...threat. However, the fact that Robin trusted the others to take care of Slade said a lot about him.

"Counting down to take-off," Cyborg said, "ten…nine…"

Beast Boy looked to the side at the others. More than anything else he wanted to be on solid ground looking for Slade. Robin had given that task to the other honorary Titans. But maybe it was a good thing that they weren't going after Slade themselves. It would give Beast Boy some time to cool off.

He looked over to Robin. Didn't he say that he was going to investigate it? Maybe he didn't have the time to look into it before this whole business with Blackfire came up. Well, he would ask Robin about it again when they were done rescuing Blackfire.

"The invisibility shields are up," Raven said, "the plan is to go in, get Blackfire out and then fly back to Earth. Correct?"

"I still don't think the Blazing B should come back with us," Beast Boy said. "Remember that marriage—"

"We're all aware of what Blackfire has done," Robin cut-in. "And right now, that's not important."

Everyone seemed especially antsy this morning. Well, that was probably because no one thought that it was a good idea. But then again, it was the right thing to do. Starfire had an obligation to help her sister. To help her people.

Beast Boy was thrown back in his seat as the rocket lifted off.

"We're off," Robin said.

* * *

**A/N: **Arg I don't know when I will update this. Again, I'm sorry if you thought that this fic was dead.


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